^ Even if he doesnt skate anymore, it certainly is an improvement of the quality of his daily life.
According to this article

He says that for the last 6 months he had every morning to sink into hot water 20 minutes, and then somehow he could start to walk or sit in a hot shower. He had to have regular massages before each training sessions. And that made him totally tired. Weeks before Russian nationals he couldnt feel his toes and the right side of his body was paralyzing at all and was skating on painkillers. Doctor saw that not only his disc, but also spinal joints and ligaments connecting the vertebrae were a mess.
At the ends he says that this would be his 4th comeback and sounds optimistic that now he can train pain free.

This somehow reminded me an interview of Lambiel saying he had to had massages and special warm up after his comeback., but I dont know exactly what injury Lambiel had had.